First, credit Netflix for changing the way we view a serial, streaming 13 episodes over a holiday weekend. Binge-watching is the new normal. Proper TV etiquette now requires you to ask how many episodes your friends have seen before launching into a critique.

Overall, the rise of the Underwoods to Congressional power was more intriguingly played than their clawing their way to the White House.

That said, give director David Fincher credit for keeping the political thriller taut, even upping the tension by killing off a key character early, and going deeper into Claire's (Robin Wright) history in season 2. Kevin Spacey remains a delightful Southern-accented villain as Frank Underwood; Wright is less a caricature at times as Claire. The pair are masterful as contemporary Macbeths, all blind ambition, practicing the art of war along with kinky personal lives. They are in the business of “ruthless pragmatism, just shy of treason, which is politics.” Best summary line of the season.

The Zoe Barnes twist was brilliant. A bold surprise. The Edward Meechum twist, not so credible. It felt like a writer's trick, bending the rule-abiding Secret Service character in order to toy with Frank's already established bisexuality.

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The sideshows this season were less successful than in the first. Gerald McRaney is a fine actor, but the premise of his character Raymond Tusk's role — best friend to the easily manipulated president, billionaire donor to the GOP, puppet-master influencing trade with China and favors to Congressmen — lacked subtlety. Are even the Koch brothers that wired in? And wasn't Tusk's bird-in-the-hand moment almost more gruesome than the human murders depicted previously?

The most tedious aspect of season 2 was the continuing Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) storyline. Frank's loyal henchman has pledged to do whatever it takes to keep Rachel Posner quiet about the Russo affair. Unfortunately, Doug's addictions have now bled into an obsession with Rachel.

The lobbyist-Congresswoman bed-hopping was more credible than the newspaper-FBI-rogue internet hacker story, or at least it played out more convincingly.

In all, a fun and suspenseful ride that won't be remembered as a great drama.

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